Trends and Applications

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard Microsoft has introduced the initial release of Windows 10. Windows 10 has been a widely anticipated release on the part of consumers and business alike, with Microsoft aiming to deploy Windows 10 on more than one billion devices within the next few years. Here are 10 technical and market reasons why Windows 10 will become Microsoft's biggest release ever.

Some industry pundits have been speculating that with cloud and IT automation, the need for database administrators (DBAs) is going to fade. However, this is far from reality. In fact, the DBA is even more vital than ever to enterprises—and the jobs of DBAs are evolving rapidly to meet new challenges and technology paradigms.

Let's rephrase the question above: The next ticking time bomb is your database. Regardless of whether you run Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or MySQL, the odds lean toward your organization having a ticking time bomb. The only question to be posed is whether you are going to become collateral damage or diffuse the bomb before the damage happens.

Oracle recently rolled out major updates to Oracle Identity Management to help organizations securely manage access to mobile, cloud, and on-premise applications. Jim Taylor, senior director, product management, Oracle, discussed how the data security landscape is being shaped by greater digitization, more demand for access from more devices, and the relentless reports of high-profile data breaches.

Columns - Big Data Notes

Shortly after the explosion of non-relational databases, around 2009, it became apparent that rather than being part of the problem, SQL would instead continue to be part of the solution. If the new wave of database systems excluded the vast population of SQL-literate professionals, then their uptake in the business world would be impeded. Furthermore, a whole generation of business intelligence tools use SQL as the common way of translating user information requests into database queries. Nowhere was the drive toward SQL adoption more clear than in the case of Hadoop.

Columns - Database Elaborations

There are fundamental differences in priorities and approaches in building operational solutions and in constructing analytical supporting solutions. However, these differences can produce a gap in understanding that occasionally results in minor battles and skirmishes between these groups along the path of getting work done. A critical area of conflict is access to production data. When building an operationally focused solution such as a website, the application is supreme.

Columns - DBA Corner

As a data professional, you have heard the term "unstructured data." And you probably know what is meant by that term, as well. For those who do not, unstructured data is a general term used to define data that is not numbers, letters, and dates stored or viewed as rows and columns. But it is a horrible term. In fact, unstructured data is a lie. Let me tell you why.

Columns - IOUG Insight

In my last column, I discussed shadow IT and suggested that this might be the future of IT rather than an anomaly. Reframing what IT might look like in the future, and acknowledging that it could be radically different than it is today, is a challenging task but not an impossible one. In fact, I would suggest that such reframing is necessary if IT is to remain relevant.

Columns - SQL Server Drill Down

The SQL Server world has its own set of challenges when it comes to database administration. One of the biggest challenges is that there are never enough skilled DBAs. Consequently, many people who are not true DBAs are pressed into service, perhaps a Windows SysAdmin or the lead developer on an application using a SQL Server back end, so-called "accidental DBAs." That means that people doing DBA work on SQL Server frequently do not know the fundamental technical details or the processes and practices commonly used by experienced enterprise DBAs. What are the Top 10 Mistakes of SQL Server DBAs?

Columns - Next-Gen Data Management

Whatever the reason, database administrators (DBAs) frequently sit in a corner alone, siloed from the rest of IT, with their potential for impact ignored. Organizations in which this happens—which is most companies—are typically characterized by an attitude that the role of the DBA is to simply keep things running. The order from the top is "Just make sure the database doesn't break anything, OK?" This is a missed opportunity and a waste of a very valuable resource that hampers IT organizations everywhere.

MV Community

Tim Nicholson, director of Informer customer services at Entrinsik, will be hosting a webinar on how comprehensive data analysis capabilities can help an organization leverage data from diverse sources more effectively to save money, find new business opportunities, and stay competitive.

Kore Technologies is rolling out enhanced features in its next release of KommerceServer eCommerce Suite. The suite will add significant out-of-the-box functionality for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce environments.

Rocket Software has released version 5.2.0 of the U2 Web Development Environment (U2 Web DE), a tool that provides an environment to handle incoming requests and outgoing responses that are often variable in volume. Upgraded features include monitoring, logging improvements, and RESTful services.

In 1965, Dick Pick and Don Nelson originally implemented PICK as the "Generalized Information Retrieval Language System" (GIRLS) on an IBM System/360 at TRW for use by the U.S. Army to control the inventory of Cheyenne helicopter parts. That was 50 years ago and MultiValue is still thriving today. It is a testament to the quality and flexibility of the technology for it to be going strong 50 years after its creation. Coincidentally, Rocket Software is also marking a significant event as it celebrates 25 years in business.

Rocket Software will be hosting MultiValue University (MVU) October 5-8 in Las Vegas, NV. Rocket has had previous conferences that were focused on mostly U2 data. "This is the first one since we have joined together with the D3 team and we're calling it MultiValue University," stated Jackie Burhans, senior channel marketing manager, MVpartner enablement, Rocket Software.